Capability Statement

McConnell Dowell has a long association delivering infrastructure projects in American Samoa and other Pacific Islands. Our project teams working in the islands become part of these close-knit communities and they often see opportunities for the team to give back to the locals they are working with.

In a reciprocal relationship the local people provide projects with talent for construction and we in turn look for substantial ways we can use machinery, materials or skills to benefit the local people in return. 

Some of the community projects the team find most rewarding involve upgrading school facilities for local children. At Tafuna High School this meant responding to a request from the Parent Teachers Association to fix up the school’s drainage and create an access road to the carpark using McConnell Dowell-donated plant, labour and materials. Here you can see the drainage works well on their way and the access road starting to take shape.

We also supported the Pavaiai High School's aim to create an all weather assembly area by donating recycled millings and asphalt to the project. Before the resurfacing students had to sit on muddy grass when they gathered during bad weather. As you can see from the photos, they now have an area they can use to gather or play whatever the weather.

When Sullivan Halaifonua arrived at our Corban Reserve project in Tāmaki Makaurau [Auckland] New Zealand he had no idea about Amotai and the benefits you can reap by becoming a member.

Sullivan Halaifonua (shown on right) is the Co-Director of Vava’u Contracting, a Pasifika-owned earthmoving business, with his wife Sita. Most of their work is repeat business or via word-of-mouth recommendations and they learned about the opportunity at Corban Reserve through Sullivan’s younger brother Josiah Halaifonua, the Grade A Tunnel Supervisor on the project (shown on left).

When Sullivan and his team arrived at Corban Reserve, our Quantity Surveyor Kathrine Juab could see the potential for growth with the right help.

Kathrine introduced the husband-and-wife team to Amotai, an organisation that provides Māori and Pasifika businesses with connections to buyers committed to social procurement. As a member, Vava’u Contracting now has access to an extensive client directory, specialist resources to help gain new business, and networking opportunities online and in person.

As a founding member of Amotai, McConnell Dowell recognises the added social value of supplier diversity and the long-term benefits of social procurement to the project, community, and industry.

“‘Providing a better life’ has been at the heart of our operations, and we’re proud to be supporting businesses like Vava’u Contracting. By the end of the project, we are forecast to meet our broader social outcomes spend goal of $1,000,000,” says Kathrine.

Meet the Corbans team in the video below or find out more about the project scope here.